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LabVlEW Programming Environment
A cluster consists of a collection of different data type elements, similar to the structure data type in text-based programming languages. Clusters allow one to reduce
the number of wires on a BD by bundling different data type elements together
and passing them to only one terminal. An individual element can be added to or
extracted from a cluster by using the cluster functions such as B u n d l e b y Name
and U n b u n d l e b y Name.
2.6 Debugging and Profiling VIs
2.6.1 Probe Tool
The Probe tool is used for debugging VIs as they run. The value on a wire can be
checked while a VI is running. Note that the Probe tool can only be accessed in a
BD window.
The Probe tool can be used together with breakpoints and execution highlighting to
identify the source of an incorrect or an unexpected outcome. A breakpoint is used
to pause the execution of a VI at a specific location, while execution highlighting
helps one to visualize the flow of data during program execution.
2.6.2 ProlWe Tool
The Profile tool can be used to gather timing and memory usage information, in
other words, how long a VI takes to run and how much memory it consumes. It is
necessary to make sure a VI is stopped before setting up a Profile window.
An effective way to become familiar with LabVIEW programming is by going
through examples. Thus, in the two labs that follow in this chapter, most of the key
programming features of LabVIEW are presented by building some simple VIs. More
detailed information on LabVIEW programming can be found in [1-5].
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